MOGADISHU – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has airlifted boxes of assorted medical items to help tens of thousands of people affected by floods in Baladweyne town, about 335km north of Mogadishu
WHO says 4 .5 tonnes of emergency medical supplies had been dispatched to Beledweyne to assist communities in areas which were hit by flooding after Shabelle River burst its banks.
Nearly 120,000 people were displaced in Beledweyne town – one of the worst affected areas –after the Shabelle river burst its banks
UN said that heavy rains had forced more than 175,000 people across Somalia from their homes, after saw rivers burst their banks this month.
The rains also affected more than 174,000 people in Baidoa, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Somali capital Mogadishu, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Before the floods struck, an estimated 5.4 million people needed emergency aid, including food, water and shelter.
Funding for humanitarian assistance was already insufficient and would now be further stretched, the United Nations said.
With Reporting Abdirisak Mohamud Tuuryare from Mogadishu, Somalia
